Uni weighs extent of budget cuts

Adelaide University is weighing up the likely extent of cuts it will need to make if the Federal Government presses ahead with national cuts to the tertiary education sector.

The university's annual budget will lose millions of dollars as the Government directs more education money to its Gonski school funding package.

Adelaide's vice-chancellor Warren Bebbington said the university already had funding cut twice in the past year.

He said further cuts could leave it with a $20 million shortfall, which would hurt its level of services.

"The notion of an efficiency dividend which has been announced is artificial. No university could make another efficiency dividend, we've got such lean operations now, we're down to the bone and this will have to mean cutting something," he said.

Professor Bebbington said research programs would be spared.

"Most research we do is on research grants or else paid for out of funds, research contract money which can't be drawn into this," he said.